In this lesson from Apple Pro Training Series: GarageBand, you’ll learn recording and editing techniques for building music with Software Instrument regions. You’ll also learn how to change instruments for Software Instrument tracks in the timeline.

Note: This excerpt does not include the lesson files. The lesson files are available with purchase of the book.

You already have a basic understanding of the GarageBand window, and you have some experience working with tracks. Now it’s time to dive in and start filling those tracks with custom music that you create with Software Instruments.

In this lesson, you’ll learn recording and editing techniques for building music with Software Instrument regions. You’ll also learn how to change instruments for Software Instrument tracks in the timeline.

You have four ways of recording Software Instrument parts into the timeline: single-take recording, multiple-take recording, multiple-track recording, and overdub recording. You’ll work with the first three methods in this lesson. Along the way you’ll also learn how to edit and fix timing on your Software Instrument recordings. You’ll explore the fourth option, overdub recording, in Lesson 7, “Creating Drum and Percussion Tracks,” when you use it to record an original hip-hop beat.

Preparing the Project

Let’s take a moment to open and save the first project for this lesson before moving on to the main exercises.

Open the project 4-1 Ditty Bass Part 1 from the Lesson 4 folder.

Save it to your My GarageBand Projects folder on the desktop.

Play the project once and listen closely to the bass parts that you will be recording shortly.

This is the same project you worked with in Lesson 2, “Working with Tracks.” The difference is that there’s a new section at the end that will be used as a bridge between the second verse and second chorus. Those parts have not yet been created. At the end of this lesson you’ll use the arrangement track to duplicate parts of the song to build it up to a full song length.